Method: The SERVQUAL was used to measure consumer expectations and perceptions on sport centers’ service quality. The questionnaire was originally written in English and then translated into Chinese. It was reviewed for content validity by a panel of experts and then was pilot-tested using 40 consumers to assess the validity and reliability. Based on the results of the pilot study, further modifications were made in order to clarify some ambiguous wording in the Chinese version. The questionnaire contained three parts. Part I and II each consisted of 22 questions related to consumer expectations and perceptions on sport center service respectively. The participants were asked to rate service quality using a 7-point Likert-type scale. The final part consisted of 14 questions related to exercise patterns and demographic information. The questionnaires were distributed to six complex sport centers in which three of each managed by GD and OE respectively. The entire procedure yielded a total of 302 valid and usable questionnaires.
Analysis/Results: The data were analyzed using several statistical techniques. The Independent sample t-tests were used to assess the differences in expectation, perception and service quality gap mean scores among the five service quality dimensions between the public and outsourced sport centers. Paired T-tests were used to measure the service quality gap between consumer expectations and perceptions. Factorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests were performed to identify the differences among gender, income level, education level, and administrative system with regard to service quality expectations and perceptions respectively and the gap scores. The results showed that expectation scores were higher than perception scores in all types of sport centers. Moreover, the results found that perception scores in outsourced sport centers were significantly higher than public sport centers. No significant effect on service quality dimensions was found on gender, however, significant mean differences were found on income group, education level, and administrative system.
Conclusions: The finding implied that the quality of service provided by all types of sport centers were below the expectation of users. Users perceived outsourced sport centers provided a better service than public sport centers. The government may consider increase the outsourcing services and/or implement improvement programs to enhance the service quality of public sport centers.